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Chapter 53: The Banquet

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As the teenagers were getting hot and bothered in the bath, their parents were gathered in one of their hotel rooms. Thankfully, the rooms provided to them by the officials were luxurious and spacious. Each room was a suite, capable of housing an entire family. The adults easily sat together at the dining table of Christina and Joseph's room.

A certain couple was having a minor discourse.

“Don't be so mad, Honey, I was only thinking about the best thing for Robin.”

“...”

Christina said nothing in response to Joseph's excuses. They were supposed to convince Robin to leave the White Fang, yet this idiotic husband of hers allowed him to stay on a whim. Truly, it should be no surprise Robin's dad got along well with Conner. Robin had taken the news about Jackson quite calmly if one thought about it. But if someone had a person as easygoing as Joseph as a dad, something like that wasn't that difficult to wrap one's head around.

“Come on now, darling. I care about him just as much as you do. Don't be like this.”

She gave him the evil eye, capable of scaring away even Exotic Grimm. Joseph began to sweat profusely.

“Honey, please, you'll scare the baby.”

As if on cue, Jackson starting to cry out loud. This forced Christina to change her expression from a devil to a caring mother. It was not too long before little Jackson returned to his slumber.

“Look,” Joseph said in a more serious tone, “the entire purpose of telling Robin to leave the White Fang in the first place was because we thought he might still be naive, possible leading him to commit crimes he didn't want to. Since he's shown us that isn't the case, what reason do we have to stop him?”

“Uh, how about the fact that he's still a kid?”

The person who interrupted him was Zuri Zittori, Ophelia's father. Zuri was the husband of Victoria Zittori, and both of them were snake faunuses. Zuri had brown scales, which Ophelia had inherited, while Victoria's were white. Zuri wore a buttoned shirt and khaki pants while Victoria wore a dress to match her scales. He was well groomed and pushed up his glasses closer to his face before speaking again.

“I mean, for God's sake, Joseph. They're 15! For all you know, they could be running wild behind our backs, getting drunk, having sex, and doing drugs! Why should we let them stay in the White Fang any longer than they have been. It's just a negative influence on them.”

Needless to say, Zuri was a worrywart. His words was just an exaggeration of the truth since none of the parents here actually thought their child would do such a thing. After all, they lived with their children all their lives. Who knew them better than those present? They could be almost certain that such a thing wasn't gonna happen....Almost.

Ebon flinched at the mention of sex. Blake was his little girl. There was no way in hell he was letting that happen to his innocent little flower.

“Nope, noooo way. There is no way my little girl is gonna stay in that group of savages. No thank you.” Ebon flat out proclaimed.

Little did he know, the said “innocent flower” was secretly reading erotic novels behind his back. Elina, who was actually aware of that fact but kept it hidden for Blake's sake, interjected.

“Now calm yourself, Ebon. They aren't all savages. At least from what Blake has told us.”

“I don't know if we can trust the words of your daughter. She's too infatuated with Robin.”

The one who spoke this time was Risha Taurus. Risha was a panther faunus with dark brown hair. The man sitting next to her was her husband, Alexander Taurus. Surprisingly enough, Alex was a bull faunus, so that meant Adam inherited his faunus traits from his father.

If two faunuses of different races were to mate, then the offspring would be between one of the two races involved. In terms of genetics, the offspring could only inherit specific features of one race, but it was still possible to inherit certain traits from each parent. In this case was between a panther faunus and a bull faunus. The child could only be a faunus, and it only be either bull or panther, but not both. However, the child is able to inherit a minor trait like the skin color from the mother while getting the eye color from the father.

Risha sat with her back straight and her chin upwards. As a very proud individual, she constantly taught Adam to never think lowly of himself. Since he was the son of the strongest faunus in the village, Risha always reminded him of this and spoiled Adam.

“On the other hand, I believe it might be fine if they stay in the White Fang. Our son, Adam, is fighting for his beliefs after all. I couldn't be more proud.”

The women in the room smiled at Risha's words. Yes, even if they wanted their children to quit, they were certainly proud that they were taking a stand. In comparison to when they were kids, things in the kingdom was different to a shocking degree. But that wasn't the issue. Thankfully, Alexander had a much more normal outlook than his wife, allowing him to correct her when she stepped too far out of line.

“Ri- baby, this and that are two different things. Even if we're proud, what's the use if they're in jail?”

“Exactly!” Zuri said. “I only sent our daughter to become a Huntress, so she could learn to protect herself. I have no intention of letting Ophelia become a fighter on the front lines! She should come back to the village and work as the doctor, or go into a medical school and get her degree!”

“Darling,” Victoria said. “Even if you want to plan out our daughter's life, she inevitably has to be the one to choose. If she decides she wants to go to Beacon Academy, we can't stop her."

“NO! That can't work out. Never!” Ebon protested.

“I've been on the Internet! I know the statistics! All the rooms at Beacon are co-ed. According to the survey I saw, over 80 percent of students who attend Beacon graduate without their virginity! That's not a school! That's a brothel fueled by our taxes!”

At the outburst of such an outrageous fact made the parents looked at Ebon with shock.

“Huh, really?” Joseph rubbed his chin expectantly. “Sounds like I don't have to worry about my boy's experience.”

The death glare was given. Joseph shut his mouth while Elina slapped Ebon's.

“Don't be foolish. By the time they graduate from Beacon they'll be 19 to 20 years old. They'll be adults by then so what's the harm? Besides, even if you complain about our taxes, it's thanks to that that all students attending Beacon don't have to pay any fees. If we add in the fact they work the missions at the Guild, then they're basically independent adults.”

“We've drifted from the main topic.”

With a stern voice, Barney Dinkleberg drew the group's attention to himself. Barney and his wife, Gera, were both fox faunuses with gray fur covering their tails. Unfortunately, Gera was injured when she was a kid and lost the ability to have a child. They had to settle with adopting Conner, which had put him in an awkward position. It was only recently they got Conner to truly open up to them.

With a commanding air, Barney told them his opinion.

“Without a doubt, things have changed in the kingdom since we were kids. The White Fang which used to work under Alex is now under someone else's command. They no longer are peaceful and will most likely serve as a negative influence on our kids.”

Each parent nodded in agreement.

“Even if we force this issue now, they would probably still attend meetings behind our backs given how involved they are already. I believe the best conclusion is if they realized on their own just how foolish it is. That said, Robin might be the best way to convince them of that. Joseph, how did he react?"

The parents were well aware of Robin's role in the group. Barney, who was the chief, also recognized Robin's skills as a leader. If Robin could convince them to leave, that would be best.

“Well, he was pretty much convinced that he had a purpose for staying in the White Fang, but he is aware of their violent tendencies and shortcomings. Robin's constantly worried about his friends' safety, and he has promised us to pull out the moment he catches wind of anything bad."

“Good, the sooner they leave, the better. Although it sounds terrible, we should be looking after our own rather than the situation between faunus and humans as a whole.”

“Wait wait. So we're just going gamble on the fact that little Robin is gonna magically keep them out of harm's way?” Zuri scoffed.

“Honey...” Victoria looked her husband with concern.

He was a bit strict when it came to his daughter, but it was out of care that he said so. However, Victoria didn't want her daughter to hate them no matter what the outcome was.

“No, I'm stopping Ophelia whether she wants to or not. Do what you guys will, but Ophelia isn't going to be involved with them anymore.”

Just then, Gera's Scroll vibrated. After reading the message, she told everyone the details.

“They seem to have finished taking their bath. Conner says they'll be waiting in the lobby.”

“I don't think we should make a decision just yet.” Barney concluded.

“Let just enjoy our time together for now. We should make the final decision after the Vytal Festival.”

The parents all gathered in the lobby to transport their children back to the meeting place. Upon arrival, they found Robin and the others gathered with their friends, occupied with idle chatter. Two kids were familiar faces that they had just met earlier that day, but there were another two boys that haven't met yet.

Ebon was not pleased with one of them. This blonde faunus was actually flirting with Blake. Robin, at the moment, was trying to keep himself between Sun and Blake, who was watching Robin's every action with her hazel eyes. Ebon's own hazel eyes stared at the two boys but with a much colder gaze. Sun and Robin both shivered as they momentarily felt bloodlust from behind.

“HEY GUYS!” Ebon said, inserting himself between

his treasure and the savages.

“WHAT ARE YA DOING?”

“What am I doing?” Robin repeated.

“WHAT ARE YA DOING?”

“Nothing much.”

“FLIRTING WITH MAH DAUGHTER?”

“Flirting with your daughter?”

“ARE YOU?!”

Robin found himself silent in front of this cat faunus. Sun, however, immediately said..

“Yes!”

"@$%!%"

Ebon's eyes went from hazel to bloodshot. Robin felt sorry for what was gonna happen to Sun. At the same time, Robin degraded himself silently for not being the one to speak up first.

= He took the initiative, shoot. What are you doing, Robin? Pull yourself together. =

Blake started to giggle at seeing Robin's change of expression. It had been a long time since she saw this side of him, confused and flustered. The same could be said for Joseph and Christina, who also watched with interest. Conner placed himself next to Joseph.

“You can thank me for your new daughter-in-law.” Conner said with pride.

“Good work. Robin has always been a battle freak. This is good for him.”

Indeed, Joseph and Christina secretly shipped Blake with Robin. After seeing the two of them together so often, it would be strange not to see them as couples. While Conner and Joseph bumped fists, Elina bumped hers on the top of Ebon's head.

“What are you accomplishing by scaring the kids? I apologize for my husband.” She said while yanking on his ear.

“No, we were the rude ones. We haven't introduced ourselves yet. My name is Neptune Vasilias.”

Neptune put on the airs of a gentleman, silently signalling Sun to do the same. Sun woke up from his daze.

“Ah, yes. I'm Sun Wukong.”

“It's a pleasure to meet you two. I'm Elina, Blake's mother. This fool right here is my husband, Ebon. Greet them, Ebon.”

“H-Hey there! Nice to meet you. But don't you get any kind of ideas with Blake, you hear me? She-YOW!%@$#@# [email protected]#^!%”

With another yank, Ebon starting speaking gibberish. After watching these two, Robin suddenly realized two things. The first was what a miracle it was that Blake somehow became a quiet bookworm when compared to the parents. The second was that this was probably what Conner and Ophelia would be like in the future.

= ..Poor Conner. =

Blake and Robin both held similar gazes at Conner who was now talking to Joseph. Upon noticing their gazes, he looked at them in confusion. It was then that Risha moved them along.

“Hurry along now. As people who qualified for the main competition, it would be rude to the competitors if you were disqualified for being late. Act out your teenage drama some other time.”

They left in different groupings this time. Robin and Blake rode together with Joseph and Christina, Ophelia and Conner was with Barney and Gera, Adam rode with his own parents, Amy and Osagi sat in Zuri and Victoria's car, and finally Ebon was forced by his wife to ride without any of the kids as punishment for being excessively annoying. Sun and Neptune left with their own parents.

“But-but our daughter is-”

“Growing up. Now get in the car.”

Ebon made a face like he spat out a hairball. He momentarily looked at Blake and Robin before sitting in the car. Ultimately, he trusted Robin to do nothing to his daughter since he had not done anything over the last 14 years. As for Zuri, he also wanted to size up Osagi, hoping to see if he was good enough for Ophelia. Victoria herself was curious about the nature of this human boy.

Ophelia at this time was holding the door for Conner to get in. On her face was a smile rarely seen when the two of them talked. Usually it was a face of being fed up with dealing with Conner's antics. This made Conner slightly suspicious.

“...What are you doing?”

Ophelia looked at him annoyed.

“I'm holding the door for you, moron! Just get in already.”

Seeing that her expression was genuinely happy, Conner decided there was no reason for him not to. After they got in the car, Ophelia immediately jabbed his ribs with her elbow.

“Cough, cough....What was that for!”

“That was for calling me overly serious and annoying.”

She pecked him on the cheek.

“That was for everything else.”

“...”

Everything else included the fact Conner took the effort to light a fire between Robin and Sun, as well as revealing his own feelings for her. Conner had spoken softly in the bath and even closed the slit. At the realization he was overheard anyway, Conner blushed furiously and sat there in silence.

Ophelia found this amusing, and she began to tease him the entire trip. It was later found out she had raised another 3 points in Sadism from the car ride alone. Gera looked at her husband, and they silently gave each other a thumbs up. This was definitely ok in their book.

Meanwhile, Alexander was watching all of this unfold from the far back. After seeing each boy/girl pair walk into a car, he turned to look at his son, Adam. If Adam got his ego from his mother, then he was a sore loser because of his dad.

“Adam?”

“Yeah?”

“Get a girlfriend soon.”

“...”

==========================

Upon arrival in the hall, only the kids were allowed in. Osagi stood behind and waved them goodbye. No doubt he would meet back up with them later. After Robin and the others went inside Joseph and Ebon started talking to him.

“So looks like you didn't get through huh? Tough luck sonny.” Ebon said while patting him on the shoulder.

“Haha, yeah Robin was just too strong for me. Like seriously, that Acupuncture of his was way too strong.”

“We also watched your fight.” Joseph said.

“You did good. Don't be so down.”

“Does it show? My bad. It isn't what you think. I was thinking about something else.”

As grown adults, Joseph and Ebon also had noticed. Despite Ebon's playful nature, he was a grown man. Both saw Osagi and Amy had neither of their parents show up. In addition, both kids had sad looks when watching their families interact with one another. Joseph and Ebon considered the possible scenarios. Ultimately, they decided to do some small talk to help alleviate his loneliness.

=====================

Inside the hall was a giant banquet. Long aisles were set up with each one holding various snacks and beverages. Looking at all this food made the kids' stomachs growl. This gently reminded them that they had ate nothing since early that morning.

“First, how about we get some food?” Robin proposed.

Everyone nodded in agreement and each went to find some food. There was a large selection available and each of them starting talking with one another in their small little group talks.

“Blake, remember the plan. Ok?” Ophelia whispered.

“Let them fight it out right? Sure.” she said indifferently. “Why do I have to do this again?”

“Because,” Ophelia scoffed at her friend's attitude. “this way Robin's feelings for you only grow. You already like him, so you are basically boyfriend and girlfriend. Just let them fight over you a bit. Plus you'll get pampered.”

What Ophelia didn't say was that she found it extremely amusing watching Robin and Blake interact. They were finally making some progress with their love life, how would that not be interesting? Blake, who understood Ophelia's thought process, shook her head after seeing through Ophelia's intentions. Certainly, she was made to be with Conner.

“If you want to be involved with love talk, you should talk to Amy.”

As of this moment, Amy was stuffing herself with all kinds of food imaginable. Was she a big eater? Not really, but today's events had left her depressed. From Conner's confession about Ophelia, and seeing Team COBRA's parents, she was left feeling sour and left out. It was on the trip back that Osagi actually consoled her, allowing her to feel slightly better. Watching Robin and Blake interact though only made her mood dip again.

“..That's probably a good idea.”

Ophelia walked over to the kitsune faunus. Amy noticed her coming over but didn't stop eating her meal.

“Hey.”

“...”

“You ok?”

“Do I look ok?”

“...”

“...Sorry. I didn't mean it like that.”

“I know. It's mostly my fault anyway. You liked Conner that much?”

“...Yeah. Even if he acted like an idiot, I could tell from the beginning. He cares about you guys a lot and understands more than he usually lets on. He's a prankster, doesn't know his real parents, and a fun loving guy. I just felt a connection, you know?”

“Yeah, Conner can act stupid, but he's good stupid... You know you can always fight for him too. You don't need to be like Sun and give up after we're together.”

Strange as it was to hear that from the girl Conner crushed on, Amy found it to be neither awkward or out of place. She only set her fork down and gazed at Ophelia with sad eyes.

“I'm not the same as Sun. I can't be chase after a man as upbeat as he does after knowing he's taken already. Besides, you feel the same towards him right?”

“...”

“Thought so.. Don't worry. We'll still be friends. I won't let something small like this affect our relationship.We faunus gotta stick together, right? Even if we're not in the White Fang, we don't have to be enemies.”

Ophelia sighed in relief. It felt as if a huge burden was lifted off her shoulders. Amy smiled and then adopted a mocking smile.

“But seriously though, that took Robin waaay too long to admit his feelings. Don't you think?”

“Oh you said it, girl. Honestly, I think it's a miracle he actually admitted his feelings. I feel like the only thing he's thought about these past few years was books, training, and fighting. That guy might act calm and whatever, but any time he has to fight, he looks way too excited.”

At that moment, the sound of static resounded through the hall.

“Attention, please.”

Standing there was a young blonde woman in a black suit. She carried around her a tablet in her left hand.

“First and foremost, allow me to congratulate you on passing the preliminary round. Out of the thousands of Hunters and Huntresses that have registered today, only you have made it to the top 64. Maintaining control of the hills is no easy task, yet you all have done so. Take pride in the fact that among the best Hunters and Huntresses in the nation, all of them have accomplished the same task.”

Each individual present had their chests filled with pride. Robin then realized that camera men and new reporters had flooded the room, pointing their cameras at everyone that was here.

= They're broadcasting this? So the reason they only allowed competitors inside the hall was for this? =

The woman continued speaking and ignored the crowd. After tapping a couple times, she made a hand motion as if grabbing an object in front of the tablet and then threw it up in the air. Suddenly, a holographic screen appeared in the air. On it was a time table describing the events to come.

“If you'll look at the screen above me, you'll be able to verify what we'll be planning to do for the Inter-School Tournament. The preliminary round was today, the main competition takes place tomorrow, and the semi-finals and finals will be on day three of the Festival. After that, we have scheduled a luxurious dinner and dance exclusively to those present and their families.”

= I see. So the tournament only takes places for 3 days? But only two rounds of fighting will be done on day three. It's also later in the day too. Huh, they give a lot of free time in between too. I guess it's so people could recover. =

“Would everyone please reach under the tables and pull out this device?”

The woman held her hand in the air, showing off a Scroll with a colored marking on the side.

“For the first round tomorrow, everyone shall be competing in a team of four, randomize by a generator. They function similarly to a status plate, so please insert your Aura in order for the device to identify you. Once identified, it will display your unique team. This will only be for the first round. After the first round, the rest of the matches will consist of one on one match-ups. Each round will alternate between an event round and a classic tournament match.”

Without any further delay, Robin inserted his Aura into the device.

Aura: Received

Scanning...

Identified.

Robin S. Wolfheart

Teammates:

[email protected]#$%#@$q^

[email protected]#%@@^

@*([email protected]#@%^

= Um... The fuck? =

Murmurs broke out in the hall. It seemed that everyone else had the similar problem. Thinking this was planned, Robin looked back at the woman seeking an explanation. To his surprise, the woman was extremely flustered and started to press her tablet. The holographic screen above her was supposed to show the team pairings just in case something happened. Unfortunately, the screen was also unreadable.

= What the heck's going on? =

In the midst of the confusion, only four students knew what was actually happening. The Myriad Student Council members sat at their table calmly and positioned themselves conveniently so that Diane was blocked from the cameras.

Hack

Electricity flowed from her hand and into the device. Her conscious scanned and went past all the security barriers with ease, demonstrating the skills of a professional hacker. In no time, she rearranged the teams to her picking, covered her tracks of entry, and returned back to the real world.

The holographic screen flickered and suddenly showed the teams just like it should have. The woman sighed with relief and addressed the audience.

“We apologize for the delay. It seems we were having technical difficulties. As you can see here, the teams are listed with an image of each individual. Please find your teammates before I continue giving the instructions.”

= Ok fine. Lets see here. Oh? I'm with President Diane, some girl named Pyrrha Nikos, and..... =

Aura: Received

Scanning...

Identified.

Robin S. Wolfheart

Teammates:

Diane Geotal

Pyrrha Nikos

Weiss Schnee

= Please tell me this is a joke. =

It was a joke. A joke at Robin's expense. Weiss Schnee was known a young, gifted Huntress, and a possible heir to the Schnee Dust Company. She had an older sister named Winter, and was the daughter of the infamous Kalte Schnee. If Robin had to described her based on his knowledge so far, it was that she was a talented princess that got whatever she wanted. All at the expense of faunus like Robin.

= Wait. She's not Kalte. Maybe's she's a nice girl. =

The next scene disappointed Robin's hopes. Upon finding his teammates, the said Weiss Schnee was wearing a short skirt with high heels. When Weiss saw Robin's face --or to be exact, his ears-- she looked as if she saw someone eat and regurgitate poop, quickly turning her head in disgust.

= Ok. So she's a bitch. =

“Hello Robin. Enjoying yourself?” Diane asked.

Robin returned the greeting.

“Hello President. I suppose I'll have to try.”

“Try your best.” Diane said.

“Greetings. I'm Pyrrha Nikos.”

Pyrrha was a red head with long luscious hair tied in a ponytail. She wore a Spartan-like armor on the top of her body. Strangely enough, it covered only the chest, back, and belly area leaving her neck and arms completely exposed. Despite this, the top of the armor revealed an alluring, well-developed bosom that seemed to attract the eyes. Instead of a helmet, she wore a bronze headband that fit well with the rest of her outfit. For the bottom layer, she wore a red miniskirt that exposed her toned thighs, and boots to seemed to click with every step.

If Weiss was a pretty princess, then Pyrrha was a athletic beauty. Her demeanor was not arrogant in the slightest and her face could only be described as stunning with her vivid green eyes. She smiled at Robin and held out her hand. Robin smiled back and returned the handshake.

“It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Robin Wolfheart.”

Pyrrha nodded and repeated the gestures with Diane and Weiss. Unlike with Robin, she shook her hands and even smiled at Pyrrha. Robin was beginning to hate her more and more. The woman on the stage once again gathered their attention.

“Ahem. Now that we've finished greeting one another. Allow me to introduce the game for round 1. The game iiiiis...”

She made an exaggerated motion with her hand and pointed to the screen. Two words and an image appeared on the screen.

[tr]MAZE RUNNER

“Maze Runner!”

Whispers broke out among the contestants.

“Doesn't that take a lot of time to set up? You never see something that extravagant in a middle school tournament.”

“Right, don't they keep the expensive stuff for the Vytal Tournament?”

“No, maybe that's why they're making Round 1 start tomorrow?”

“But they have always had Round 1 on the second day?”

The answer was given by the woman in front.

“This year's Inter-School Tournament is made possible thanks to the generous donation of the Schnee Family, a stunning amount of one million dollars!!”

“““Oooooooooh!”””

Applause and praise rang across the audience. Weiss put on her public smile and waved to the crowd. Robin did not applaud. He was shocked by the amount of course. But he didn't applaud.

“Now allow me to explain the rules. Now that you have been reshuffled, there will be 16 different teams of four people just like before. Tomorrow the arena, each team will begin outside the maze at sixteen different starting locations. In the center of the maze will be four orbs. The goal is to reach to the center and obtain that orb.

However, just reaching the center and getting the orb isn't enough. You must protect the orb and prevent other teams from stealing it. The time limit is one hour! The four teams that are the last to possess each orb will move onto the next round.

But that's not all! There are all sorts of benefits you can get! The first teams to possess any of the orbs will receive a tablet connected to a security system and a menu that will let you alter a portion of the maze as you wish! The four tablets controls the same sectors as labeled on its respective orb: North, East, West, and South.

Furthermore, there are hidden treasure rooms spread throughout the maze. Some might grant you as shortcut to a location close to the center, or even lead to the center itself. Other's might let you activate traps preventing others who are chasing you. Just like there are treasure rooms, there will be traps! Some might be Guardian robots that protects the orb. Others might be pitfalls, or automatically transport you back to the beginning!”

= Holy crap! That's a lot of different scenarios that could play out. Traps, treasures, speed bumps, and a changing maze! =

The level of complexity was so much higher than in the preliminary round. That was just a simply conserving one's strength until the last moment. Not only was this a race to the center, it was a huge game of tag that would get harder as time went on. Despite all this, Robin did not feel nervous in the slightest. Instead, he felt ecstatic at the challenge.

= Just what kind of fights will occur in the maze? We might even be fighting a third party! God I can't wait! =

“You have plenty of time until the match tomorrow. You are free to use the school's facilities to spar and work out your strategies, or you can spend the day enjoying the Vytal Festival! Have fun, Hunters and Huntresses! We'll see you tomorrow!”